Dehydrator.



c. BIESEL. DEHYDRATOR.

APPLICATION FILED JAN-17.1916.

Patented Apr. 17, 1917.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Zak/((24 I parts in the construction of the drum may STA S CHARLES BIEsEL, or EL'rAso, TEXAS.

DEHYDRATOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed January 17, 1916. Serial No. 72,561.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES BIESEL, a citizen of the United States, residing at El Paso, in the county of El Paso and State of Texas, have invented new and useful Improvements in Dehydrators, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a continuous dehydrator, designed particularly for use in the metallurgy of ores, particularly gold and silver ores.

The object of the invention is to provide a device for rapidly, cheaply and continuously separating liquids from accompanying of parts herein fully described and claimed,

reference being had to the accompanying drawings in which Figure l is a side elevation of a dehydrator embodying my invention, with parts broken away or in section.

Fig. 2 is a top ,plan view of the dehydrator drum.

Fig. 3 is a vertical transverse section through the device, the plane of section being indicated by the line 3.3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section through the device.

Fig. 5 is a vertical transverse section on the line 55 of Fig. 4, looking toward the rotary member of the valve.

' Fig. 6 is a similar view looking toward the stationary member of the valve.

Referring to the drawings, the dehydrator comprises a drum 1 made of suitable material and dimensions, as may be required according to the desired capacity and other conditions. This drum is shown. as consisting of a hub 2, rim 3 and a series of spokes 4, forming a wheel-like structure, but any other suitable form and arrangement of be employed. The drum is provided with a peripheral channel 5 carriedby the rim '3 and made of iron, steel or other suitable material, and the channel of this drum is divided by longitudinal and transverse partitions 6 and 7 into separator chambers or compartments Each of these chambers or compartments 1s preferably square or of rec .tangular form, and has its inner or bottom wall sloping toward a central outlet 9 for the discharge of the liquid.

The chambers or compartments of the drum are covered by screens 10, each consisting of a frame 11 of wood or other suitable material and a filtering medium 12 stretched over said frame. This construction of screen is preferred, although others may be employed, as in the use of such construction of 'screen the frame pieces thereof are fitted within grooves 13 in the partitions, whereby the screens are detachably secured in position and the screen fabric held in spaced relation from the inner or bottom wall of the chamber against its depression under suction or bulging under pressure. Guard flanges or rings 14 extend around the sides of the channeled periphery of the drum and outwardly beyond the screened surface, so as to confine the material under treatment Patented Apr. 17, 1917.

within the channel and prevent it from flowing laterally off of said surface.

The drum is carried by a shaft 15, to which its hub is keyed or otherwise suitably fastened, and this shaft is driven in practice by worm or other suitable gearing 16 from a preferred source of power, by means of which the drum is revolved at a given spced. In the operation of the device, the pulp and solution are delivered to the screen surface of the drum at .a point between the horizontal and vertical on the ascending side of the drum-through a distributing spout or launder 17, whereby the stream of ulp is caused to flow gently over the sur ace of the filtering medium. The drum moves generally at a peripheral speed offrom forty to fifty feet per minute and inthe direction ductors which communicate with suction and pressure pipes 19 extending transversely The outlets 9 :of each transverse set of, 'separator chambers or compartments are connected with discharge pipes or conof the drum within the space between the hub and rim of the drum. These pipes'19 communicate with openings 20 in the rotary cup-shaped member 21 of a valve device comprising said rotary member 21 and a cup-shaped stationary .member' 22, said member 22 being keyed or transversely fixed to the shaft 15, while the said stationary member 22 is held from rotary movement on and with the shaft but is fitted to slide longitudinally thereon.

The valve member is provided with openings 23 and 24 communicating respectively with suction and fluid pressure pipes 25 and 25, which pipes may be arranged and mounted to hold the valve member 22 against rotation while permitting it to have sliding motion so that a .fluid tight connection between the valve members may at all times be secured. A coiled spring 26 surrounds the drum shaft between the sliding and non-rotary valve member and a pressure plate 27 and serves to normally hold the two valve members in fluid tight engagement and to takeup any wear or looseness which may at any time occur. The tension of this spring may be regulated by means of adjusting screws 23 acting on the plate 27 and carried by a bearing member 29 In practice the suction pipe 25 may be connected with any suitable suction pump or system, while the pressure pipe 25' may be connected with any suitable source of compressed air or other fluid or liquid. The openings 20 are arranged in two groups on any suitable receptacle.

in which one end of the shaft is journaled.

opposite sides of the axis of the valve memher 21, and the openings of one group communicate with a segmental suction groove or manifold chamber 30, while the openings of the other group communicate with a, pressure groove or manifold 31, said grooves being formed in the inner face of said valve member 22 and being separated by blank spaces 32 and 33, which are imperforate and act as cut-off portions. the drum, the openings 20 successively come into alinement with the openings 23 and 2% in the valve member'22, whereby said openings are brought into communication with the arrangement being such that the groups of openings 20 successively and alternately communicate with the suction and pressure pipes. At all other times the imperforate portions 32 and 33, register with the openings 20 and cut off communication between the pipes 19 and the suction and pressure pipes 25 and 25.

It will be observed that a new surface of filtering medium continuously presents itself to the feeding stream of pulp and to the back flow. The thickness of this applied stream may vary from a thin sheet to one- I half inch. Depending upon the density of In the rotation of the pulp, there will be deposited on the filtering periphery of the drum a thin film of solids, which is not however, sufliciently thick to retard the filtering action. This thin film of pulp may vary from one-sixtyfourth. of an inch to one-eighth of an inch in thickness, depending upon the kind of filtering medium used, the density of the pulp and speed at which the dehydrator is being operated, as Well as on the amount of suction force applied.

At the moment each separator compartment or chamber is brought into registry with the discharge end of the spout 17 all of those chambers or compartments of the same transverse series, are brought into communication with the suction pipe 25, whereby the liquid contained in the pulp is drawn through the screen into said compartments, leaving the solid pulp adhering to the surface of the screen, the liquid being discharged through the suction pipe into Ata peripheral speed-of about forty-five feet per minute, the adhering film of pulp is subjected to suction for a considerable period until the pipe 19 communicating with the particular separating chambers in question passes out of communication with the suction opening 24 into alinement with the blind or blank space 32, at which time the suction action is cut ofi, the thin film of pulp being in this way and during such period exposed to suction and aeration for the period named, and the greater part of the liquid and moisture being removed and extracted/from the pulp and discharged. After passing beyond theblind or blank space 32, each pipe 19 then communicates withi the pressure opening 24; for a similar period, during which it is supplied with air or other fluid or liquid at any desired pressure until said pipe registers with the other blind space 33, whereupon the pressure supply will be cut off and the cycle of operation above described will be repeated, the drum thus being continuous 'in action in its extraction of moisture from the pulp and inaerating or otherwise treating the pulp for a definite period. The cycle of operation referred to may be completed repeatedly at the rate of from three to four times or more per minute, it being understood from the foregoing that the pulp may be either'subjected to the action of air or subjected to the action of a suitable liquid for a desired subsequent treatment. Should the pressure from within not be sufiicient, in the use ofdry fluidpressure, to blow ofi or remove the partly dried pulp on the outside of the filterlng screen, a jet of air applied from the outside through a nozzle A may be employed to assist in this action, whereby the partly'dry pulp will be dislodged and deposited into a receptacle 35 having a suit- 13o plied through a nozzle B to assist in removing the film of pulp from the outside of the filtering screen.

Owing to the fact that the drum acts upon the principle of treating a very thin layer of pulp, instead of a cake of material thickness, the number of square feet of material actually exposed a given time is considerably increased. Furthermore, the pulp during the process of dehydration, as Well =as during the period of discharge, receives a thorough aeration, which is very important in oyanidation of ores. It will be evident that the device, on account of its simplicity of construction, with an entire absence of valves which must be manipulated or controlled, may be operated and maintained in primed condition at a very low cost.

I claim A dehydrator comprising a rotary drum having a channeled periphery partitioned to form rows of longitudinal and transverse separating chambers, a screen covering for said chambers, conductors connecting each transverse series of chambers, and a valve device comprising a rotary member connected with the series of conductors and a stationary member, and suction and fluid pressure supply pipes connected with the stationary member of the valve and adapted to be placed at different periods in communication with said conductors through the movement of said rotary valve member.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES BIESEL.

Witnessesf v WILBER J UDSON, H. O. WOODBURN. 

